Emma in China: Adventures in Anhui: Going to Hui and Judy's hometown- part 1

Going to Anhui with Judy was really the best time! I loved hanging out with her family, and I loved how warm and welcoming they were to me. I was actually quite overwhelmed when we first walked into the private dinner room, and suddenly I was getting introduced to so many people, and they all wanted to hug me. It was sooooo great!

haha, looks like Judy and I are the only ones eating

We had a nice family dinner in the five star hotel. The lazy susan was self rotating, which is super cool. :)

I ended up staying in Anhui with Judy and her family for a month. We did a super mega ton of shopping, and I bought a lot of new clothes. I am always a big fan of buy one get one free. I think I found some really nice stuff.
One morning we woke up early to go out for a walk with Judy's grandma and grandpa. We went up on a mountain, and they were telling us stories about what happened in all of the different places.

Look at those fearless people playing badminton on a mountain. You gotta be a serious player before you can play around there. Go crazy with your birdie, and it'll fly right off the side of the mountain, and your done for the day.

just look at that view

Judy's grandparents said that this place was where they lined up the bodies during WWII. Now it's a park, and people practice kung fu and play badminton in the same place. There are many graves around this place, but I thought it would be disrespectful for me to take pictures.

There was one seasonal dish that I absolutely loved in Anhui, which was my favorite 红烧肉with chestnuts called 板栗.When we were walking with Judy's grandparents, we saw the trees where the chestnuts grow, and we also saw a man collecting the chestnuts in a basket. Judy told me that this is one of the only places in China where you could find that kind of chestnut. I just love them!

you can see the fuzzy green chestnuts if you look closely

Another day Judy's dad took us around to a few historic places around town. One of the places we went was the home of a famous guy named Wang Bowen. I really enjoyed it, because it reminded me of the historic places I would go to with my family. I want to go to more places like this. Also, I think I'd really like to bring Hui to visit some of the historic places in America I have never been to.

The explanation here says that back then more than ten people would sit to eat together at this little table. I can't imagine. They must have been either really small or really patient. I can't even sit in the back of the car with my brother and sister for a few hours, I can't imagine this.

This is the place where the chickens go to lay eggs. Hui has one in the back of his house too. Have you ever felt a chicken egg that was just laid? I have. Its very warm.